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How Parents Can Manage Kids’ Video Game Obsession

These days,
children playing video games at any time is a typical scene in
any household. Games can be played using computers, TV, mobile
devices and consoles. You seldom see children playing outside
anymore. It seems that jump rope, hopscotch or hide and seek
aren’t as fun as building (or destroying) kingdoms, killing
zombies or stealing cars.

Children can never seem to get enough of these games and could
play the whole day if given a chance. They lose track of time
and may even forget to eat or drink.

It’s scary for parents to see their kids fade away into the
virtual world, so here are some tips on how you can manage your
kids’ video game obsession.

Set clear rules and guidelines with your kids

There’s no standard formula on how to set rules for all children
because there’s always a different approach for each of them.
Sit your kids down and talk about your rules like you’re having
a meeting, not like you’re announcing martial law. You’ll be
talking about their time, so they have a say with the final
decisions.

Both parents should be involved and implement the rules. If one
of you will be the police and the other one a lawyer, you will
surely have little lawbreakers in the house. Learn more about
the games your kids play at
www.gamingguidetips.com so that you know which games you can
approve or not.

You can use the following approach to video games policy:

1. The “Reward” Approach

This approach simply means that your kids will be given a game
time when they do something right or good. Say, you allow them
to have screen time for an hour every day, then they earn extra
half hour if they wash the dishes or clean their room or extra
fifteen minutes if they take the trash out. You’ll see that
you’ll come home to a clean and clutter free house. Of course,
this can be dangerous because it would mean that they can play
long hours if they do all the household chores.

Make sure you have a chart or a board where you can check out
the work they have done and the time they earned so that you
won’t lose track of how much time they can spend playing the
video games.

2. The “Hitler” approach

This is the “no negotiations - just follow” approach for parents
who want to keep everything simple. Although it won’t work for
many kids these days, there are still those who are obedient
enough to do as they are told. Just make sure that your policy
is fair and acceptable.

There may be times that your child may ask for extra time
especially if they are playing level games and are about to
complete another level. This is when you will be faced with a
hard decision of sticking to your rules or giving extra time to
finish the level. But, rules are rules.

Encourage your kids to be involved in other activities

Surely there are other activities that your child will be
interested in. If they think they don’t, that’s because they
haven’t tried it yet and have no idea how fun it is to be a kid.

Here’s what you can do:

Sign them up for camps or tours.
Find other ways to channel their creativity and passion. If they
like building stuff in Minecraft, they may also enjoy playing
with building blocks.
Take them to the beach.
Go to the park and let them play with other kids.

Don’t be afraid to say NO

It could be tough to say no to your kids especially when they
start hugging you and giving you butterfly kisses. Not to
mention those eyes staring at you as their lives depend on it.
Don’t be afraid to say, “No.” If it’s not their time to play
video games, then say it.

If you give in once, they will do it again, and again. But if
you said no, they would know right away that you mean business.
Then you will see that they will look for other ways to get
occupied.

Don’t use video games as an off button

Although there are so many instances that we are so tempted just
to shove them iPads to keep them quiet whenever you’re doing
something really important, this could give your kids the idea
that if they are loud enough, you will just give them gadgets to
play with for a little peace and quiet.

Make sure you have other activities for them to do when you need
to kill time like:

Giving them activity books or board games
Play with their siblings/pets
Do their homework or review for the upcoming test
Watch kid-oriented shows on television

Balance the indoor and outdoor life of your kids

Most of the time, children turn to video games because of
boredom and the limited availability of activities they can do
outside. As parents, you’re responsible for providing the
opportunity for the kids to be outdoors. There’s no experience
better than being outdoors for stimulating the body and the
mind. Whenever children are outdoors, they have the instinct of
getting physically involved with nature and actually live as a
human being and not a game character.

Whether it’s rolling on the grass or getting submerged in a
creek, having the chance to do something with the whole body is
an experience that they will never forget. It also helps with
the kids’ overall health and well being. For a day, you can
spare your kids the exposure to radiation of the screens.

Yes, you can’t get away with the fact that videogames are
already a part of people’s lives. You may be very skeptical
about it because you grew up without having them and you had so
much fun anyway, but, kids these days are different. They live
in a world where technology is the actual world they live in.

There’s nothing else you can do but set the limitations and
impose a policy on your kids’ play time. After all, these games
can also help your children’s creativity and focus. Might as
well believe that it’s alright for them to indulge at a specific
time.

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